Inking apparatus for printing press

Abstract

An inking apparatus for a printing press includes an ink supplying unit, an ink form roller, an oscillating roller, and an ink ductor roller. The ink supplying unit has an ink fountain for storing an ink, and an ink fountain roller having a circumferential surface on which a film of the ink supplied from the ink fountain is formed. The ink supplying unit supplies the ink on the circumferential surface of the ink fountain roller to an ink transfer line for a plate cylinder. The ink form roller supplies the ink, supplied from the ink supplying unit through the ink transfer line, to a plate mounted on the plate cylinder. The oscillating roller is disposed along the ink transfer line between the ink fountain roller and the ink form roller to reciprocally move in an axial direction. The ink ductor roller reciprocally moves between a position for coming into contact with an upstream-side roller in an ink transfer direction to receive the ink, and a position for coming into contact with a downstream-side roller in the ink transfer direction to transfer the ink. The oscillating roller and the ink ductor roller have different periods of motion.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An inking apparatus for a printing press, comprising: an ink supplying unit having an ink fountain for storing an ink and an ink fountain roller having a circumferential surface on which a film of the ink supplied from said ink fountain is formed, said ink supplying unit being adapted to supply the ink on said circumferential surface of said ink fountain roller to an ink transfer line for a plate cylinder;   an ink form roller for supplying the ink, supplied from said ink supplying unit through said ink transfer line, to a plate mounted on said plate cylinder;   an oscillating roller disposed along said ink transfer line between said ink fountain roller and said ink form roller;   an ink ductor roller disposed between an upstream-side roller in an ink transfer direction to receive the ink and a downstream-side roller in the ink transfer direction to transfer the ink; and   moving means for moving said oscillator roller axially through a reciprocal period and for moving said ink ductor roller between said upstream-side roller and said downstream-side roller through a reciprocal period and   wherein said moving means ensures that the number of axially reciprocal periods of said oscillating roller is different than the number of reciprocal periods of said ink ductor roller.   
     
     
       2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said moving means is further linked to said plate cylinder to radially move said plate cylinder through a rotational period, said moving means having structure to ensure that the reciprocal periods of said oscillating roller and said ink ductor roller are referenced to a rotational period of said plate cylinder. 
     
     
       3. An apparatus according to claim 2, said moving means having a mechanical linkage, said mechanical linkage axially moving said oscillating roller once through a reciprocal period for any particular even number of revolutions of said plate cylinder, and moving said ink ductor roller once through a reciprocal period for any particular odd number of revolutions of said plate cylinder. 
     
     
       4. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said moving means having a mechanical linkage, said mechanical linkage axially moving said oscillating roller once through a reciprocal period for any particular odd number of revolutions excluding the first revolution of said plate cylinder, and moving said ink ductor roller once through a reciprocal period for any particular even number of revolutions of said plate cylinder. 
     
     
       5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said upstream-side roller in the ink transfer direction is said ink fountain roller, said downstream-side roller in the ink transfer direction is said oscillating roller. 
     
     
       6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said moving means is further linked to said plate cylinder to radially move said plate cylinder through a rotational period and further comprising a first drive mechanism for converting rotational motion of said plate cylinder into reciprocal motion to drive said oscillating roller, and a second drive mechanism for converting the rotational motion of said plate cylinder into reciprocal motion to drive said ink ductor roller. 
     
     
       7. An apparatus according to claim 1, said ink fountain roller having a width and said ink supplying unit further comprising an ink blade operationally engaged with said ink fountain roller for uniformly adjusting a thickness of the film of the ink on said circumferential surface of said ink fountain roller in a widthwise direction over said ink fountain roller.